Extensible user experience framework

ABSTRACT

An extensible user experience framework includes outputting a graphical user interface (GUI) including a persistent panel for displaying alerts of real-time communications and presenting single-click options for users to select to initiate actions in response to those alerts. A GUI is output for display at a client device. The GUI presents one or more alerts and one or more response actions for each of the one or more alerts, in which each of the alerts corresponds to different real-time communications received at the client device, and the response actions for a given alert are each selectable by a single user interaction to initiate a different action for a real-time communication associated with the given alert. An action for the real-time communication associated with the given alert is later initiated responsive to a selection of a response action for the given alert.

BACKGROUND

Enterprise entities rely upon several modes of communication to supporttheir operations, including telephone, email, internal messaging, andthe like. These separate modes of communication have historically beenimplemented by service providers whose services are not integrated withone another. The disconnect between these services, in at least somecases, requires information to be manually passed by users from oneservice to the next. Furthermore, some services, such as telephonyservices, are traditionally delivered via on-premises solutions, meaningthat remote workers and those who are generally increasingly mobile maybe unable to rely upon them. One solution is by way of a unifiedcommunications as a service (UCaaS) platform, which includes severalcommunications services integrated over a network, such as the Internet,to deliver a complete communication experience regardless of physicallocation.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are, inter alia, implementations of systems andtechniques for an extensible user experience framework.

One aspect of this disclosure is an apparatus. The apparatus includes amemory and a processor configured to execute instructions stored in thememory to output a graphical user interface (GUI) for display at aclient device and to initiate an action for a real-time communicationassociated with a given alert responsive to a selection of a responseaction of one or more response actions for the given alert. The GUIpresents one or more alerts and one or more response actions for each ofthe one or more alerts, in which each of the one or more alertscorresponds to different real-time communications received at the clientdevice and the one or more response actions for a given alert are eachselectable by a single user interaction to initiate a different actionfor a real-time communication associated with the given alert.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a non-transitory computer readablestorage device. The non-transitory computer readable storage deviceincludes program instructions that, when executed by a processor of aclient device, cause the processor to perform operations includingconfiguring response actions for one or more types of alerts within aGUI using input received from the client device, outputting the GUI fordisplay at the client device in which the GUI presents one or morealerts and one or more of the response actions based on types of the oneor more alerts, and initiating an action for a real-time communicationassociated with an alert of the one or more alerts responsive to aselection of a response action of the response actions for the alert.

Yet another aspect of this disclosure is a system. The system includes afirst communication system, a second communication system, and a GUIsystem. The first communication system is configured to implement afirst service through which first real-time communications are receivedat a client device. The second communication system is configured toimplement a second service through which second real-time communicationsare received at the client device. The GUI system is configured tooutput a GUI for display at the client device in which the GUI presentsone or more alerts and one or more response actions for each of the oneor more alerts and each of the one or more alerts corresponds to one ofthe first real-time communications or one of the second real-timecommunications. An action associated with the first service is initiatedresponsive to a selection of a response action associated with an alertcorresponding to one of the first real-time communications and an actionassociated with the second service is initiated responsive to aselection of a response action associated with an alert corresponding toone of the second real-time communications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This disclosure is best understood from the following detaileddescription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Itis emphasized that, according to common practice, the various featuresof the drawings are not to-scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of thevarious features are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an electronic computing andcommunications system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example internal configuration of acomputing device of an electronic computing and communications system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a software platformimplemented by an electronic computing and communications system.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of a persistent panel which maybe represented within a GUI of a software platform.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a system which includes a GUIincluding a persistent panel for displaying alerts representative ofreal-time communications and receiving selections of response actions inresponse to those alerts.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example of a system which includes a GUIincluding a persistent panel which may be configured to change aspectsof the persistent panel.

FIGS. 7A-B are illustrations of examples of displays including GUIswhich may be displayed at a client device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example of a technique for initiating anaction for a real-time communication based on a selection of a responseaction within a GUI.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example of a technique for connecting aservice to a persistent panel of a GUI.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example of a technique for updating a GUIaccording to configuration changes for a persistent panel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With real-time communications, such as incoming calls, instant messages,chat messages, or the like, people typically have to deal with lots ofinformation in a very short period of time. For example, when a call isincoming and the phone is ringing, a person has maybe ten to fifteenseconds to answer the call before it is no longer available.Furthermore, a real-time communication always has some context. Forexample, the context of a real-time communication may refer to asalesperson attempting to persuade a prospective customer to purchase aproduct or service. In another example, the context of a real-timecommunication may refer to a medical doctor seeking to review laboratoryresults with a patient.

In a UCaaS platform which includes telephony services, conferencingservices, messaging services, and the like, real-time communications mayarise over one or more modalities for various platform users. Thefrequency may, for example, be based on a particular platform user'srole within an office which uses the UCaaS platform. For example, areceptionist or executive assistant may receive incoming callsthroughout the entire business day and have little time to action thosecalls, such as by answering them, forwarding them to other platformusers, or causing some response to occur. In particular, so-called powerusers, which generally refer to anyone who uses the services of theUCaaS platform frequently throughout a workday, may rely upon supportfrom the UCaaS platform to help them identify and action real-timecommunications in an efficient manner.

One approach includes using on-screen softphones and other softapplications dedicated for specific purposes which can presentnotifications on the user's display upon some event occurring. However,this approach is insufficient because it typically includes high levelsof detail for a given dedicated service or application such that itcannot integrate multiple applications or services together. Thus, auser must still navigate through multiple windows (e.g., softwareapplication windows, web browser tabs, etc.) to locate various types ofapplications or services for actioning. In many cases, by the time theuser finds the correct window, there may not be sufficient timeremaining to take action on a given real-time communication.

Furthermore, existing on-screen softphones and other existing softapplications are not extensible to support third party services whichmay also be used by a given UCaaS platform user. Often times, real-timecommunications may involve third party software (e.g., an x-ray imagingsoftware, software which is being demonstrated for a potential sale,etc.). It is thus very important that a UCaaS platform provide amechanism to support immediate real-time communication exchanges in oneor more modalities for both first party and third party applications.Given that so many modalities are implemented in the software space,there is limited room available on a user's display for an additionalsoftware application. However, given that real-time communicationstypically require immediate actioning, it is very important that usershave immediate access at all times to something which enables them toboth receive a communication quickly and respond to it quickly.

Implementations of this disclosure address problems such as these usingan extensible user experience framework which includes outputting a GUIincluding a persistent panel for displaying alerts of real-timecommunications and presenting single-click options for users to selectto initiate actions in response to those alerts. The persistent panel isan extensible persistent panel which sits on a user's display to makethe user aware of real-time communications in one or more modalities andto enable the user to take some action in response to a real-timecommunication in a single click regardless of the modality. Thepersistent panel generally occupies less display space than a typicalsoftware application, and, in some cases, the size may be configurablebased on user preferences and/or based on a number of applicationsintegrated within the persistent panel. The persistent panel ispersistent such that it remains on top of the user's display forimmediate viewing at all times, unless otherwise configured. Thepersistent panel is extensible such that it can be used for current andfuture first or third party applications or services provided thoseapplications or services indicate some type of information and somemanner of allowing a user to interact therewith. The purpose of thepersistent panel is thus to make the user aware of some kind ofcommunication and provide the user with one or more single-click,configurable actions to perform in response thereto.

To describe some implementations in greater detail, reference is firstmade to examples of hardware and software structures used to implementan extensible user experience framework. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of anexample of an electronic computing and communications system 100, whichcan be or include a distributed computing system (e.g., a client-servercomputing system), a cloud computing system, a clustered computingsystem, or the like.

The system 100 includes one or more customers, such as customers 102Athrough 102B, which may each be a public entity, private entity, oranother corporate entity or individual that purchases or otherwise usessoftware services, such as of a UCaaS platform provider. Each customercan include one or more clients. For example, as shown and withoutlimitation, the customer 102A can include clients 104A through 104B, andthe customer 102B can include clients 104C through 104D. A customer caninclude a customer network or domain. For example, and withoutlimitation, the clients 104A through 104B can be associated orcommunicate with a customer network or domain for the customer 102A andthe clients 104C through 104D can be associated or communicate with acustomer network or domain for the customer 102B.

A client, such as one of the clients 104A through 104D, may be orotherwise refer to one or both of a client device or a clientapplication. Where a client is or refers to a client device, the clientcan comprise a computing system, which can include one or more computingdevices, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, anotebook computer, a desktop computer, or another suitable computingdevice or combination of computing devices. Where a client instead is orrefers to a client application, the client can be an instance ofsoftware running on a customer device (e.g., a client device or anotherdevice). In some implementations, a client can be implemented as asingle physical unit or as a combination of physical units. In someimplementations, a single physical unit can include multiple clients.

The system 100 can include a number of customers and/or clients or canhave a configuration of customers or clients different from thatgenerally illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, and without limitation,the system 100 can include hundreds or thousands of customers, and atleast some of the customers can include or be associated with a numberof clients.

The system 100 includes a datacenter 106, which may include one or moreservers. The datacenter 106 can represent a geographic location, whichcan include a facility, where the one or more servers are located. Thesystem 100 can include a number of datacenters and servers or caninclude a configuration of datacenters and servers different from thatgenerally illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, and without limitation,the system 100 can include tens of datacenters, and at least some of thedatacenters can include hundreds or another suitable number of servers.In some implementations, the datacenter 106 can be associated orcommunicate with one or more datacenter networks or domains, which caninclude domains other than the customer domains for the customers 102Athrough 102B.

The datacenter 106 includes servers used for implementing softwareservices of a UCaaS platform. The datacenter 106 as generallyillustrated includes an application server 108, a database server 110,and telephony server 112. The servers 108 through 112 can each be acomputing system, which can include one or more computing devices, suchas a desktop computer, a server computer, or another computer capable ofoperating as a server, or a combination thereof. A suitable number ofeach of the servers 108 through 112 can be implemented at the datacenter106. The UCaaS platform uses a multi-tenant architecture in whichinstallations or instantiations of the servers 108 through 112 is sharedamongst the customers 102A through 102B.

In some implementations, one or more of the servers 108 through 112 canbe a non-hardware server implemented on a physical device, such as ahardware server. In some implementations, a combination of two or moreof the application server 108, the database server 110, and thetelephony server 112 can be implemented as a single hardware server oras a single non-hardware server implemented on a single hardware server.In some implementations, the datacenter 106 can include servers otherthan or in addition to the servers 108 through 112, for example, a mediaserver, a proxy server, or a web server.

The application server 108 runs web-based software services deliverableto a client, such as one of the clients 104A through 104D. As describedabove, the software services may be of a UCaaS platform. For example,the application server 108 can implement all or a portion of a UCaaSplatform, for example, including conferencing software, messagingsoftware, and/or other intra-party or inter-party communicationssoftware. The application server 108 may, for example, be or include aunitary Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

In some implementations, the application server 108 can include anapplication node, which can be a process executed on the applicationserver 108. For example, and without limitation, the application nodecan be executed in order to deliver software services to a client, suchas one of the clients 104A through 104D, as part of a softwareapplication. The application node can be implemented using processingthreads, virtual machine instantiations, or other computing features ofthe application server 108. In some such implementations, theapplication server 108 can include a suitable number of applicationnodes, depending upon a system load or other characteristics associatedwith the application server 108. For example, and without limitation,the application server 108 can include two or more nodes forming a nodecluster. In some such implementations, the application nodes implementedon a single application server 108 can run on different hardwareservers.

The database server 110 stores, manages, or otherwise provides data fordelivering software services of the application server 108 to a client,such as one of the clients 104A through 104D. In particular, thedatabase server 110 may implement one or more databases, tables, orother information sources suitable for use with a software applicationimplemented using the application server 108. The database server 110may include a data storage unit accessible by software executed on theapplication server 108. A database implemented by the database server110 may be a relational database management system (RDBMS), an objectdatabase, an XML database, a configuration management database (CMDB), amanagement information base (MIB), one or more flat files, othersuitable non-transient storage mechanisms, or a combination thereof. Thesystem 100 can include one or more database servers, in which eachdatabase server can include one, two, three, or another suitable numberof databases configured as or comprising a suitable database type orcombination thereof.

In some implementations, one or more databases, tables, other suitableinformation sources, or portions or combinations thereof may be stored,managed, or otherwise provided by one or more of the elements of thesystem 100 other than the database server 110, for example, the client104 or the application server 108.

The telephony server 112 enables network-based telephony and webcommunications from and to clients of a customer, such as the clients104A through 104B for the customer 102A or the clients 104C through 104Dfor the customer 102B. Some or all of the clients 104A through 104D maybe voice over Internet protocol (VOIP)-enabled devices configured tosend and receive calls over a network, for example, a network 114. Inparticular, the telephony server 112 includes a session initiationprotocol (SIP) zone and a web zone. The SIP zone enables a client of acustomer, such as the customer 102A or 102B, to send and receive callsover the network 114 using SIP requests and responses. The web zoneintegrates telephony data with the application server 108 to enabletelephony-based traffic access to software services run by theapplication server 108. Given the combined functionality of the SIP zoneand the web zone, the telephony server 112 may be or include acloud-based private branch exchange (PBX) system.

The SIP zone receives telephony traffic from a client of a customer anddirects same to a destination device. The SIP zone may include one ormore call switches for routing the telephony traffic. For example, toroute a VOIP call from a first VOIP-enabled client of a customer to asecond VOIP-enabled client of the same customer, the telephony server112 may initiate a SIP transaction between a first client and the secondclient using a PBX for the customer. However, in another example, toroute a VOIP call from a VOIP-enabled client of a customer to a clientor non-client device (e.g., a desktop phones which is not configured forVOIP communication) which is not VOIP-enabled, the telephony server 112may initiate a SIP transaction via a VOIP gateway that transmits the SIPsignal to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) system for outboundcommunication to the non-VOIP-enabled client or non-client phone. Hence,the telephony server 112 may include a PSTN system and may in some casesaccess an external PSTN system.

The telephony server 112 includes one or more session border controllers(SBCs) for interfacing the SIP zone with one or more aspects external tothe telephony server 112. In particular, an SBC can act as anintermediary to transmit and receive SIP requests and responses betweenclients or non-client devices of a given customer with clients ornon-client devices external to that customer. When incoming telephonytraffic for delivery to a client of a customer, such as one of theclients 104A through 104D, originating from outside the telephony server112 is received, a SBC receives the traffic and forwards it to a callswitch for routing to the client.

In some implementations, the telephony server 112, via the SIP zone, mayenable one or more forms of peering to a carrier or customer premise.For example, Internet peering to a customer premise may be enabled toease the migration of the customer from a legacy provider to a serviceprovider operating the telephony server 112. In another example, privatepeering to a customer premise may be enabled to leverage a privateconnection terminating at one end at the telephony server 112 and at theother at a computing aspect of the customer environment. In yet anotherexample, carrier peering may be enabled to leverage a connection of apeered carrier to the telephony server 112.

In some such implementations, a SBC or telephony gateway within thecustomer environment may operate as an intermediary between the SBC ofthe telephony server 112 and a PSTN for a peered carrier. When anexternal SBC is first registered with the telephony server 112, a callfrom a client can be routed through the SBC to a load balancer of theSIP zone, which directs the traffic to a call switch of the telephonyserver 112. Thereafter, the SBC may be configured to communicatedirectly with the call switch.

The web zone receives telephony traffic from a client of a customer, viathe SIP zone, and directs same to the application server 108 via one ormore Domain Name System (DNS) resolutions. For example, a first DNSwithin the web zone may process a request received via the SIP zone andthen deliver the processed request to a web service which connects to asecond DNS at or otherwise associated with the application server 108.Once the second DNS resolves the request, it is delivered to thedestination service at the application server 108. The web zone may alsoinclude a database for authenticating access to a software applicationfor telephony traffic processed within the SIP zone, for example, asoftphone.

The clients 104A through 104D communicate with the servers 108 through112 of the datacenter 106 via the network 114. The network 114 can be orinclude, for example, the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a widearea network (WAN), a virtual private network (VPN), or another publicor private means of electronic computer communication capable oftransferring data between a client and one or more servers. In someimplementations, a client can connect to the network 114 via a communalconnection point, link, or path, or using a distinct connection point,link, or path. For example, a connection point, link, or path can bewired, wireless, use other communications technologies, or a combinationthereof.

The network 114, the datacenter 106, or another element, or combinationof elements, of the system 100 can include network hardware such asrouters, switches, other network devices, or combinations thereof. Forexample, the datacenter 106 can include a load balancer 116 for routingtraffic from the network 114 to various servers associated with thedatacenter 106. The load balancer 116 can route, or direct, computingcommunications traffic, such as signals or messages, to respectiveelements of the datacenter 106.

For example, the load balancer 116 can operate as a proxy, or reverseproxy, for a service, such as a service provided to one or more remoteclients, such as one or more of the clients 104A through 104D, by theapplication server 108, the telephony server 112, and/or another server.Routing functions of the load balancer 116 can be configured directly orvia a DNS. The load balancer 116 can coordinate requests from remoteclients and can simplify client access by masking the internalconfiguration of the datacenter 106 from the remote clients.

In some implementations, the load balancer 116 can operate as afirewall, allowing or preventing communications based on configurationsettings. Although the load balancer 116 is depicted in FIG. 1 as beingwithin the datacenter 106, in some implementations, the load balancer116 can instead be located outside of the datacenter 106, for example,when providing global routing for multiple datacenters. In someimplementations, load balancers can be included both within and outsideof the datacenter 106. In some implementations, the load balancer 116can be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example internal configuration of acomputing device 200 of an electronic computing and communicationssystem, for example, a computing device which implements one or more ofthe client 104, the application server 108, the database server 110, orthe telephony server 112 of the system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

The computing device 200 includes components or units, such as aprocessor 202, a memory 204, a bus 206, a power source 208, peripherals210, a user interface 212, a network interface 214, other suitablecomponents, or a combination thereof. One or more of the memory 204, thepower source 208, the peripherals 210, the user interface 212, or thenetwork interface 214 can communicate with the processor 202 via the bus206.

The processor 202 is a central processing unit, such as amicroprocessor, and can include single or multiple processors havingsingle or multiple processing cores. Alternatively, the processor 202can include another type of device, or multiple devices, now existing orhereafter developed, configured for manipulating or processinginformation. For example, the processor 202 can include multipleprocessors interconnected in one or more manners, including hardwired ornetworked, including wirelessly networked. For example, the operationsof the processor 202 can be distributed across multiple devices or unitsthat can be coupled directly or across a local area or other suitabletype of network. The processor 202 can include a cache, or cache memory,for local storage of operating data or instructions.

The memory 204 includes one or more memory components, which may each bevolatile memory or non-volatile memory. For example, the volatile memoryof the memory 204 can be random access memory (RAM) (e.g., a DRAMmodule, such as DDR SDRAM) or another form of volatile memory. Inanother example, the non-volatile memory of the memory 204 can be a diskdrive, a solid state drive, flash memory, phase-change memory, oranother form of non-volatile memory configured for persistent electronicinformation storage. The memory 204 may also include other types ofdevices, now existing or hereafter developed, configured for storingdata or instructions for processing by the processor 202. In someimplementations, the memory 204 can be distributed across multipledevices. For example, the memory 204 can include network-based memory ormemory in multiple clients or servers performing the operations of thosemultiple devices.

The memory 204 can include data for immediate access by the processor202. For example, the memory 204 can include executable instructions216, application data 218, and an operating system 220. The executableinstructions 216 can include one or more application programs, which canbe loaded or copied, in whole or in part, from non-volatile memory tovolatile memory to be executed by the processor 202. For example, theexecutable instructions 216 can include instructions for performing someor all of the techniques of this disclosure. The application data 218can include user data, database data (e.g., database catalogs ordictionaries), or the like. In some implementations, the applicationdata 218 can include functional programs, such as a web browser, a webserver, a database server, another program, or a combination thereof.The operating system 220 can be, for example, Microsoft Windows®, Mac OSX®, or Linux®; an operating system for a mobile device, such as asmartphone or tablet device; or an operating system for a non-mobiledevice, such as a mainframe computer.

The power source 208 includes a source for providing power to thecomputing device 200. For example, the power source 208 can be aninterface to an external power distribution system. In another example,the power source 208 can be a battery, such as where the computingdevice 200 is a mobile device or is otherwise configured to operateindependently of an external power distribution system. In someimplementations, the computing device 200 may include or otherwise usemultiple power sources. In some such implementations, the power source208 can be a backup battery.

The peripherals 210 includes one or more sensors, detectors, or otherdevices configured for monitoring the computing device 200 or theenvironment around the computing device 200. For example, theperipherals 210 can include a geolocation component, such as a globalpositioning system location unit. In another example, the peripheralscan include a temperature sensor for measuring temperatures ofcomponents of the computing device 200, such as the processor 202. Insome implementations, the computing device 200 can omit the peripherals210.

The user interface 212 includes one or more input interfaces and/oroutput interfaces. An input interface may, for example, be a positionalinput device, such as a mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, or the like; akeyboard; or another suitable human or machine interface device. Anoutput interface may, for example, be a display, such as a liquidcrystal display, a cathode-ray tube, a light emitting diode display, orother suitable display.

The network interface 214 provides a connection or link to a network(e.g., the network 114 shown in FIG. 1). The network interface 214 canbe a wired network interface or a wireless network interface. Thecomputing device 200 can communicate with other devices via the networkinterface 214 using one or more network protocols, such as usingEthernet, transmission control protocol (TCP), internet protocol (IP),power line communication, an IEEE 802.X protocol (e.g., Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, ZigBee, etc.), infrared, visible light, general packet radioservice (GPRS), global system for mobile communications (GSM),code-division multiple access (CDMA), Z-Wave, another protocol, or acombination thereof.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a software platform 300implemented by an electronic computing and communications system, forexample, the system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The software platform 300 is aUCaaS platform accessible by clients of a customer of a UCaaS platformprovider, for example, the clients 104A through 104B of the customer102A or the clients 104C through 104D of the customer 102B shown inFIG. 1. For example, the software platform 300 may be a multi-tenantplatform instantiated using one or more servers at one or moredatacenters including, for example, the application server 108, thedatabase server 110, and the telephony server 112 of the datacenter 106shown in FIG. 1.

The software platform 300 includes software services accessible usingone or more clients. For example, a customer 302, which may, forexample, be the customer 102A, the customer 102B, or another customer,as shown includes four clients—a desk phone 304, a computer 306, amobile device 308, and a shared device 310. The desk phone 304 is adesktop unit configured to at least send and receive calls and includesan input device for receiving a telephone number or extension to dial toand an output device for outputting audio and/or video for a call inprogress. The computer 306 is a desktop, laptop, or tablet computerincluding an input device for receiving some form of user input and anoutput device for outputting information in an audio and/or visualformat. The mobile device 308 is a smartphone, wearable device, or othermobile computing aspect including an input device for receiving someform of user input and an output device for outputting information in anaudio and/or visual format. The desk phone 304, the computer 306, andthe mobile device 308 may generally be considered personal devicesconfigured for use by a single user. The shared device 312 is a deskphone, a computer, a mobile device, or a different device which mayinstead be configured for use by multiple specified or unspecified users

Each of the clients 304 through 310 includes or runs on a computingdevice configured to access at least a portion of the software platform300. In some implementations, the customer 302 may include additionalclients not shown. For example, the customer 302 may include multipleclients of one or more client types (e.g., multiple desk phones,multiple computers, etc.) and/or one or more clients of a client typenot shown in FIG. 3 (e.g., wearable devices, televisions other than asshared devices, or the like). For example, the customer 302 may havetens or hundreds of desk phones, computers, mobile devices, and/orshared devices.

The software services of the software platform 300 generally relate tocommunications tools, but are in no way limited in scope. As shown, thesoftware services of the software platform 300 include telephonysoftware 312, conferencing software 314, messaging software 316, andother software 318. Some or all of the software 312 through 318 usescustomer configurations 320 specific to the customer 302. The customerconfigurations 320 may, for example, be data stored within a database orother data store at a database server, such as the database server 110shown in FIG. 1.

The telephony software 312 enables telephony traffic between ones of theclients 304 through 310 and other telephony-enabled devices, which maybe other ones of the clients 304 through 310, other VOIP-enabled clientsof the customer 302, non-VOIP-enabled devices of the customer 302,VOIP-enabled clients of another customer, non-VOIP-enabled devices ofanother customer, or other VOIP-enabled clients or non-VOIP-enableddevices. Calls sent or received using the telephony software 312 may,for example, be sent or received using the desk phone 304, a softphonerunning on the computer 306, a mobile application running on the mobiledevice 308, or using the shared device 310 where same includes telephonyfeatures.

The telephony software 312 further enables phones which do not include aclient application to connect to other software services of the softwareplatform 300. For example, the telephony software 312 may receive andprocess calls from phones not associated with the customer 302 to routethat telephony traffic to one or more of the conferencing software 314,the messaging software 316, or the other software 318.

The conferencing software 314 enables audio, video, and/or other formsof conferences between multiple participants, such as to facilitate aconference between those participants. In some cases, the participantsmay all be physically present within a single location, for example, aconference room, in which the conferencing software 314 may facilitate aconference between only those participants and using one or more clientswithin the conference room. In some cases, one or more participants maybe physically present within a single location and one or more otherparticipants may be remote, in which the conferencing software 314 mayfacilitate a conference between all of those participants using one ormore clients within the conference room and one or more remote clients.In some cases, the participants may all be remote, in which theconferencing software 314 may facilitate a conference between theparticipants using different clients for the participants. Theconferencing software 314 can include functionality for hosting,presenting scheduling, joining, or otherwise participating in aconference. The conferencing software 314 may further includefunctionality for recording some or all of a conference and/ordocumenting a transcript for the conference.

The messaging software 316 enables instant messaging, unified messaging,and other types of messaging communications between multiple devices,such as to facilitate a chat or like virtual conversation between usersof those devices. The unified messaging functionality of the messagingsoftware 316 may, for example, refer to email messaging which includesvoicemail transcription service delivered in email format.

The other software 318 enables other functionality of the softwareplatform 300. Examples of the other software 318 include, but are notlimited to, device management software, resource provisioning anddeployment software, administrative software, third party integrationsoftware, and the like. In one particular example, the other software318 can include software for configuring, outputting, and otherwiseusing a GUI which displays alerts associated with real-timecommunications and response actions selectable to initiate actions forthe real-time communications.

The software 312 through 318 may be implemented using one or moreservers, for example, of a datacenter such as the datacenter 106 shownin FIG. 1. For example, one or more of the software 312 through 318 maybe implemented using an application server, a database server, and/or atelephony server, such as the servers 108 through 112 shown in FIG. 1.In another example, one or more of the software 312 through 318 may beimplemented using servers not shown in FIG. 1, for example, a meetingserver, a web server, or another server. In yet another example, one ormore of the software 312 through 318 may be implemented using one ormore of the servers 108 through 112 and one or more other servers. Thesoftware 312 through 318 may be implemented by different servers or bythe same server.

Features of the software services of the software platform 300 may beintegrated with one another to provide a unified experience for users.For example, the messaging software 316 may include a user interfaceelement configured to initiate a call with another user of the customer302. In another example, the telephony software 312 may includefunctionality for elevating a telephone call to a conference. In yetanother example, the conferencing software 314 may include functionalityfor sending and receiving instant messages between participants and/orother users of the customer 302. In yet another example, theconferencing software 314 may include functionality for file sharingbetween participants and/or other users of the customer 302. In someimplementations, some or all of the software 312 through 318 may becombined into a single software application run on clients of thecustomer, such as one or more of the clients 304-310.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of a persistent panel 400 whichmay be represented within a GUI of a software platform, for example, thesoftware platform 300 shown in FIG. 3. The persistent panel 400represents some or all of a GUI and is used for displaying alerts ofreal-time communications and presenting single-click options for usersto select to initiate actions in response to those alerts. For example,the persistent panel 400 may be configured, initialized, or otherwiseused within a GUI generated, output, or otherwise processed using theother software 318 shown in FIG. 3.

The persistent panel 400 includes groupings of information output in theGUI. As shown, the persistent panel 400 includes an alerts grouping 402,an application status grouping 404, and a user status grouping 406. Eachgrouping can have one or more entries, represented as unique rows withinthe persistent panel 400. In FIG. 4, two entries are shown for eachgrouping; however, each grouping may have more or fewer entries in thepersistent panel 400. In particular, the groupings may have differentnumbers of entries at different times such as based on variouscommunication events, changes in application statuses, and changes userstatus. The persistent panel 400 may have a fixed size. Alternatively,the size of the persistent panel 400 may scale based on the number ofentries therein.

The alerts grouping 402 includes entries corresponding to real-timecommunications over one or more modalities. For telephony-relatedcommunications, one entry in the alerts grouping 402 may be for a newincoming call, another may be for a call already in-process and placedon hold, another may be for a missed call or voicemail message, etc. Forconference-related communications, one entry in the alerts grouping 402may be for a meeting reminder that pops up immediately before or after aconference begins, another may be for a conference which wasrescheduled, etc. In one example, a user may be lost in an email and notaware that someone else has started a meeting they are late for. Theentry representing an alert for that meeting in the alerts grouping 402can flash or otherwise indicate that the meeting has started to catchthe user's attention.

The application status grouping 404 includes entries corresponding toapplication status indicators for one or more first party or third partysoftware applications or services, in which first party softwareapplications or services are native to the software platform and thirdparty software applications or services are external to the softwareplatform. For customer service agents using a service software, oneentry in the application status grouping 404 may be for a call queuestatus, another may be for a call queue member status, another may befor an executive status, another may be an employee channel, etc. Theapplication status grouping 404 can include fixed or static informationfor various first party and/or third party software applications orservices. In one example, a user may click on an entry in theapplication status grouping 404 corresponding to a social communicationchannel which allows other users logged into it to communicate with himor her.

The user status grouping 406 includes entries corresponding to thestatus of the user himself or herself. For example, one entry in theuser status grouping 406 may be a presence indicator (e.g., online,away, in-meeting, do not disturb, etc.), another may be for an audiocontrol menu such as to enable or disable various audio peripheralsusable for participating in a real-time communication (e.g., a wirelessheadset, microphones, or the like), another may be for a keypad, etc.For example, a user may interact with an entry in the user statusgrouping 406 to initiate a break process (e.g., to visit the restroom,to take a lunch break, etc.).

Regardless of the grouping, each entry in the persistent panel 400includes an item information aspect 408 and one or more single-clickactions 410. The item information aspect 408 displays informationassociated with the entry. For example, an item information aspect 408for an entry within the alerts grouping 402 associated with an incomingcall can display text indicating that a call is incoming and informationassociated with the call, such as a telephone number of the caller, aname of the caller, or other information. In another example, an iteminformation aspect 408 for an entry within the application statusgrouping 404 associated with a team chat channel can display a name andavailability of that team chat channel. In yet another example, an iteminformation aspect 408 for an entry within the user status grouping 406associated with a social presence of the user can display informationindicating whether the user is available, busy, in a meeting, in a “donot disturb” mode, or otherwise unavailable.

The single-click actions 410 are interactive user interface elementswithin the GUI corresponding to response actions that, when selected bya user, cause some action to occur in connection with the subject of agiven entry. A single-click action 410 may thus be selected by a singleuser interaction to initiate some action associated with the subject ofthe respective entry. For example, for an entry within the alertsgrouping 402 representing an incoming call, the single-click actions maycorrespond to response actions including to accept the call, decline thecall, and transfer the call. In another example, for an entry within theapplication status grouping 404 representing a conference, thesingle-click actions may correspond to response actions including tojoin the conference, leave the conference, and message participants ofthe conference. In yet another example, for another entry within theapplication status grouping 404 representing a call queue, thesingle-click actions may correspond to response actions including tocheck queue status and check queue total. For example, where thepersistent panel 400 is output to a display of a client device, such asa desktop computer or a laptop computer, a single user interaction witha single-click action may be a single click using a mouse or otherperipheral of the desktop computer or of the laptop computer.

Each entry within any of the groupings 402 through 406 includes one ormore single-click actions 410. Although three single-click actions 410are shown in FIG. 4 for each of the entries, some entries may includemore or fewer action options. The single-click actions 410 may beinitially set by default such as to enable a set of most frequently usedactions to be taken in response to a single user click for a givenentry. In some implementations, the single-click actions 410 associatedwith a given entry may be configurable.

In some implementations, the persistent panel 400 can include one ormore other groupings in addition to or instead of one or more of thegroupings 402 though 406. For example, the persistent panel 400 mayinclude a grouping of entries directed to analytics software orservices. For example, an analytics entry may report information aboutuser operations, customer service agent operations, and the like. In oneexample, a customer service agent may have visibility into how manyother agents on his or her team are on calls at a given time, theaverage length of time for a call, etc. In some cases, the action itemsassociated with such entries may include actions to review certainreports, send reports to other users, etc. In other cases, there may notbe any action items associated with these, as they may be for reportingpurposes only.

In some implementations, the entries for one or more of the groupings402 through 406 may be generated using a machine learning model or otherintelligence aspect that monitors information associated with thesoftware platform, communication services, application information, userinformation, or the like in real-time to suggest items for the user. Forexample, a real-time transcription process can translate spokencommunications to text, or text can be retrieved from a chat message orother conversation, and an intelligence aspect may process that text forkeyword and context usage to determine that a specific topic is beingdiscussed. A new entry may then be introduced within the persistentpanel with single-click actions to view a knowledgebase article for thetopic, message participants about the topic, conduct an internet searchfor the topic, or the like.

In some implementations, entries within the persistent panel may becolor coded. In one example, colors may be static such as to visuallydistinguish between entries of the different groupings 402 through 406.In another example, the color for a given entry may change based on somecondition. For example, where an entry corresponds to a call that isplaced on-hold, the entry may start green and then gradually change in agradient from green to yellow to red based on some length of time thatthe caller is waiting on-hold.

In some implementations, the alerts may include entries which are pushedfrom a manager, supervisor, team member, etc. for immediate actioning bymultiple users. One example is a voting option where the alert indicatesa matter to be voted on and the single-click actions are the optionsavailable for voting.

In some implementations, the single-click actions 410 presented withinthe persistent panel for selection by the user for a given entry typemay be configured. For example, a user may click on the three dots nextto the single-click actions 410 for a given entry to map a number ofpossible action responses for entries of that type to the single-clickactions 410. In some such implementations, configuring the single-clickactions 410 for a given entry may include changing a number ofsingle-click actions 410 which are available for entries of that type.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a system which includes a GUI500 including a persistent panel for displaying alerts representative ofreal-time communications and receiving selections of response actions inresponse to those alerts. The persistent panel may, for example, be thepersistent panel 400 shown in FIG. 4. The GUI 500 is displayed at aclient device 502, which may, for example, be one of the client devices304 through 310 shown in FIG. 3. For example, the client device 502 maybe a desktop computer or a laptop computer. The GUI 500 is configured topersist within a foreground of a display of the client device 502.

The client device 502 accesses and thus uses platform software 504implemented on one or more server devices, such as a server device 506.The platform software 504 is or otherwise includes software of asoftware platform, for example, the software platform 300 shown in FIG.3. For example, the platform software 504 may include one or more of thesoftware 312 through 318 shown in FIG. 3. The client device 502 may thusaccess and use the platform software 504 for one or more of sending andreceiving calls, sending and receiving messages, joining and schedulingconferences, and the like.

In their typical use, the platform software 504 is implemented withinone or more software windows 508 at the client device 502. For example,telephony software may be implemented in a first software window 508,conferencing software may be implemented in a second software window508, and so on. However, the GUI 500 is configured to interface with theplatform software 504 to deliver information associated with theplatform software 504 within one or more entries of one or moregroupings of the persistent panel included in the GUI 500. Thus, ratherthan the user of the client device 502 switching between the varioussoftware windows 508 to access the various platform software 504features, the user of the client device 502 may access those platformsoftware 504 features using the GUI 500.

The client device 502 may further access and thus use third partysoftware 510 implemented by one or more server devices, such as a serverdevice 512. The third party software 510 includes or otherwise refers tosoftware implemented external to the software platform associated withthe platform software 504. The client device 502 may access and use thethird party software 510 for one or more purposes.

In their typical use, the third party software 510 may be accessed usingone or more of the software windows 508. However, the GUI 500 may beconfigured to interface with the third party software 510 to deliverinformation associate with the third party software 510 within one ormore entries of one or more groupings of the persistent panel includedin the GUI 500. Thus, rather than the user of the client device 502switching between the various software windows 508 to access the variousthird party software 510 features, the user of the client device 502 mayaccess those third party software 510 features using the GUI 500.

The GUI 500, via the persistent panel thereof, thus may be configured todisplay information associated with services of the platform software504 and services of the third party software 510. The manner by whichthe various respective information is pushed to the GUI 500 for displaytherein may depend upon whether the information is received from theplatform software 504 or the third party software 510. In particular,where the GUI 500 and thus the persistent panel thereof are implementedby the software platform associated with the platform software 504, theplatform software 504 is directly connected to the persistent panelusing a native interface which integrates the various software platformfeatures. In such a case, the persistent panel gets the information todisplay within the entries thereof directly from the platform software504.

However, because the third party software 510 is external to thesoftware platform which implements the GUI 500, information associatedwith the third party software 510 may be processed using an eventhandler 514 at the client device 502. For example, informationassociated with the third party software 510 may be sent to the eventhandler 514, which is configured to interface with the third partysoftware 510 and which processes the received information to create anentry or update an entry within the persistent panel of the GUI 500, asapplicable. In most cases, alerts associated with real-timecommunications to be displayed within entries in an alert grouping ofthe persistent panel within the GUI 500 (e.g., entries in the alertsgrouping 402 shown in FIG. 4) will come the platform software 504, tolimit or prevent delays in presenting real time alerts for actioning bythe user which might otherwise introduced by the event handler 514. Insome implementations, the GUI 500 may be configured to interfacedirectly with the third party software 510.

Implementations of the system described with respect to FIG. 5 mayinclude a first communication system, a second communication system, anda GUI system. For example, the first communication system may behardware and/or software configured to implement a first service throughwhich first real-time communications are received at the client device502, such as a first service of the platform software 504. The secondcommunication system may be hardware and/or software configured toimplement a second service through which second real-time communicationsare received at the client device 502, such as a second service of theplatform software 504. In one non-limiting example, the first servicemay be a telephony service (e.g., implemented using the telephonysoftware 312 shown in FIG. 3) and the second service may be aconferencing service or a messaging service (e.g., implemented using theconferencing software 314 shown in FIG. 3 or the messaging software 316shown in FIG. 3, respectively). The GUI system may be hardware and/orsoftware configured to output the GUI 500 for display at the clientdevice 502. The GUI 500 may present one or more alerts and one or moreresponse actions for each of the one or more alerts, in which each ofthe one or more alerts corresponds to one of the first real-timecommunications or one of the second real-time communications. Using theGUI system, an action associated with the first service may be initiatedresponsive to a selection of a response action associated with an alertcorresponding to one of the first real-time communications and an actionassociated with the second service is initiated responsive to aselection of a response action associated with an alert corresponding toone of the second real-time communications. The response actions maythus each be selectable by a single user interaction to initiate theaction associated with the first service or the action associated withthe second service.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example of a system which includes a GUI600 including a persistent panel which may be configured to changeaspects of the persistent panel. The GUI 600 may, for example, be theGUI 500 shown in FIG. 5. The GUI 600 is displayed at a client device602, which may, for example, be the client device 502 shown in FIG. 5.The GUI 600 displays information associated with platform software 604running at a server device 606, which may for example, be the platformsoftware 504 and the server device 506 shown in FIG. 5. The GUI 600 may,for example, receive the information associated with the platformsoftware 604 directly from the platform software 600 or indirectly, suchas through a client application 608 running at the client device 602 andwhich enables access to the platform software 604 at the client device602.

The user of the client device 602, such as via the client application608, may configure one or more aspects of the GUI 600. In particular,configuration software 610 running at the server device 606 may be usedto configure some or all of the persistent panel of the GUI 600, such asby configuring one or more single-click actions (e.g., the single-clickactions 410 shown in FIG. 4) presented within the persistent panel for agiven type of entry within the persistent panel, one or more first partyor third party software integrations for use with the persistent panel,or the like. For example, the configuration software 610 may be used toconfigure one or more response actions for at least some alertspresented in the GUI 600. In some implementations, the platform software604 may include the configuration software 610.

The configuration software 610 can store the configurations set usingthe client device 602 in a server data store 612 at the server device606 and/or in a local data store 614 at the client device 602. The GUI600 may then retrieve the configurations from one of those data stores.For example, the GUI 600 may first check for configurations within thelocal data store 614 before retrieving configurations from the serverdata store 612. The GUI 600 is may check the local data store 614 and/orthe server data store 612 for configuration updates at discrete timeintervals (e.g., once per hour). Alternatively, configurations may bepushed to the GUI 600 to update the GUI 600 in response to theconfigurations being stored in the local data store 614 and/or in theserver data store 612.

FIGS. 7A-B are illustrations of examples of displays 700 and 702including GUIs which may be displayed at a client device, for example,the client device 502 shown in FIG. 5 or the client device 602 shown inFIG. 6. Referring first to FIG. 7A, the display 700 is shown. Thedisplay 700 includes a first GUI 704, a second GUI 706, and a persistentpanel GUI 708. The first GUI 704 is a GUI of software external to asoftware platform (e.g., third party software, for example, the thirdparty software 510 shown in FIG. 5). The second GUI 706 is a GUI ofsoftware of a software platform (e.g., platform software, for example,the platform software 506 shown in FIG. 5). The persistent panel GUI 708is a GUI which includes a persistent panel, for example, the persistentpanel 400 shown in FIG. 4. For example, the persistent panel GUI 708 maybe the GUI 500 shown in FIG. 5 or the GUI 600 shown in FIG. 6. Thepersistent panel GUI 708 is configured to persist within a foreground ofthe display 700.

Referring next to FIG. 7B, the display 702 is shown. The display 702includes a first GUI 710 and a persistent panel GUI 712. The first GUI710 is a GUI of software of a software platform (e.g., platformsoftware, for example, the platform software 506 shown in FIG. 5). Inparticular, the first GUI 710 represents an extended canvas version ofthe second GUI 706 shown in FIG. 7A. For example, the first GUI 710 maybe a GUI of an attendant console of a software platform. The persistentpanel GUI 712 is a GUI which includes a persistent panel, for example,the persistent panel 400 shown in FIG. 4. For example, the persistentpanel GUI 712 may be the GUI 500 shown in FIG. 5 or the GUI 600 shown inFIG. 6. The persistent panel GUI 712 is configured to persist within aforeground of the display 702.

To further describe some implementations in greater detail, reference isnext made to examples of techniques which may be performed by or usingan extensible user experience framework. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of anexample of a technique 800 for initiating an action for a real-timecommunication based on a selection of a response action within a GUI.FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example of a technique 900 for connecting aservice to a persistent panel of a GUI. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of anexample of a technique 1000 for updating a GUI according toconfiguration changes for a persistent panel.

The technique 800, the technique 900, and/or the technique 1000 can beexecuted using computing devices, such as the systems, hardware, andsoftware described with respect to FIGS. 1-7B. The technique 800, thetechnique 900, and/or the technique 1000 can be performed, for example,by executing a machine-readable program or other computer-executableinstructions, such as routines, instructions, programs, or other code.The steps, or operations, of the technique 800, the technique 900,and/or the technique 1000, or of another technique, method, process, oralgorithm described in connection with the implementations disclosedherein can be implemented directly in hardware, firmware, softwareexecuted by hardware, circuitry, or a combination thereof.

For simplicity of explanation, the technique 800, the technique 900, andthe technique 1000 are each depicted and described herein as a series ofsteps or operations. However, the steps or operations in accordance withthis disclosure can occur in various orders and/or concurrently.Additionally, other steps or operations not presented and describedherein may be used. Furthermore, not all illustrated steps or operationsmay be required to implement a technique in accordance with thedisclosed subject matter.

Referring first to FIG. 8, a flowchart of an example of the technique800 for initiating an action for a real-time communication based on aselection of a response action within a GUI is shown. At 802, a GUIincluding a persistent panel is output to a client device. The GUI isconfigured to persist within a foreground of a display of the clientdevice. The GUI, via the persistent panel thereof, includes one or moregroupings of entries in which each entry includes an information itemaspect and one or more single-click actions. For example, the one ormore groupings may include one or more of an alerts grouping, anapplication status grouping, and a user status grouping. In particular,in the alerts grouping, the GUI presents one or more alerts and one ormore response actions for each of the one or more alerts in which eachalert is presented in its own entry and the response actions for a givenalert are represented by the one or more single-click actions therefor.Each of the alerts corresponds to different real-time communicationsreceived at the client device, and the response actions for a givenalert are each selectable by a single user interaction with asingle-click action for the entry of the given alert to initiate adifferent action for a real-time communication associated with the givenalert. In some implementations, the GUI further presents one or moreapplication status indicators for one or more software applications orservices. In some implementations, the GUI further presents one or moreuser status indicators including a presence indicator for an operator ofthe client device.

At 804, a real-time communication is received from a service, such asplatform software. For example, the real-time communication can be acall received using telephony software of a software platform, aconference received or otherwise started using conferencing software ofa software platform, a message received using messaging software of asoftware platform, or another real-time communication. As describedabove, the GUI is configured to output entries representative ofreal-time communications such as the one received in one or moregroupings thereof. The real-time communications thus correspond tomodalities including one or more of calls, conferences, or messages.

At 806, an alert associated with the real-time communication ispresented within the GUI. The particular type of alert and the entrywith which it is presented in the GUI is based on a modality of thereal-time communication. Presenting the alert includes presentingresponse actions, as single-click actions, within the entry of the GUIcorresponding to the alert. The response actions presented are based onthe particular type of the alert. In one example, when the real-timecommunication associated with the alert is a call, the one or moreresponse actions corresponding to the alert include one or more of afirst user interface element for accepting the call, a second userinterface element for rejecting the call, or a third user interfaceelement for placing the call on hold. In one example, when the real-timecommunication associated with the alert is a conference, the one or moreresponse actions corresponding to the alert include one or more of afirst user interface element for joining the conference, a second userinterface element for messaging one or more participants of theconference, or a third user interface element for leaving theconference. In one example, when the real-time communication associatedwith the alert is a message, the one or more response actionscorresponding to the alert include one or more of a first user interfaceelement for viewing the message, a second user interface element forresponding to the message, or a third user interface element forignoring the message.

At 808, a selection of a response action is received from the clientdevice. The selection is based on an interaction by a user of the clientdevice within a single-click action in an entry for the real-timecommunication.

At 810, an action for the real-time communication associated with thealert is initiated. Initiating the action includes identifying theresponse action mapped to the single-click action selected by the userof the client device and transmitting instructions to an appropriatesoftware service to cause the response action. For example, where thesoftware service is native to the software platform, the GUI systemwhich implements the GUI may use a direct integration to that softwareservice to transmit instructions for a particular response action to beperformed. In another example, where the software service is external tothe software platform, the GUI system which implements the GUI may usean application programming interface (API) or other interface connectorto transmit instructions for a particular response action to beperformed.

In some implementations, the one or more response actions for a givenalert are configurable. For example, the technique 800 may includeconfiguring response actions for one or more types of alerts within theGUI using input received from the client device.

Referring next to FIG. 9, a flowchart of an example of the technique 900for connecting a software service to a persistent panel of a GUI isshown. At 902, a software service is connected to a persistent panel.The software service may have native integration, such as where it is asoftware service implemented by a software platform which implements thepersistent panel. Alternatively, the software service may use an API orother interface connector to connect to the software service.

At 902, single-click actions are defined for the software service. Thesingle-click actions may be defined based on statistically-determinedmost frequently performed actions for the software service. For example,there may be a number of actions performable by a software service, andonly one, two, or three of those may be defined as single-click actionsfor the software service. For example, where the software service is atelephony service, the actions which may be performed using thetelephony service include answering a call, holding a call, retrieving aheld call, disconnecting from a call, redirecting a call to a fixeddestination, transferring a call (e.g., blind, warm, or to voicemail),parking a call at a specific line or group, opening a contact in acustomer relationship management database, or the like. The mostfrequently performed ones of those actions, determined, for example,based on a statistical analysis over a corpus of sample data, mayinclude answering a call, disconnecting from a call, holding a call, andtransferring a call. Thus, those actions may be defined as single-clickactions for the telephony service.

At 906, a GUI including the persistent panel is initialized with thedefinitions of the single-click actions. The definitions of thesingle-click actions configure the GUI to present specified single-clickactions within entries based on those entries being introduced withinthe GUI, such as based on incoming real-time communications received atthe client device, application status updates at the client device, oruser status updates at the client device. Initializing the GUI includespreparing the GUI for use at the client device.

Referring finally to FIG. 10, a flowchart of an example of a technique1000 for updating a GUI according to configuration changes for apersistent panel is shown. At 1002, configurations for a persistentpanel are received from a client device. The configurations receivedfrom the client device may be initial configurations of response actionsassociated with various entries, such as for alerts representative ofreal-time communications, or updates to configurations of such responseactions.

At 1004, the persistent panel is updated according to theconfigurations. Updating the persistent panel according to theconfigurations includes modifying one or more response actions accordingto the updates to the configurations.

At 1006, a GUI which includes the persistent panel is updated based onthe updates to the configurations. In particular, the GUI is updated tocause new incoming entries within the persistent panel to have themodified response actions. For example, the modified response actionsaccording to the updated configurations may be presented in the GUI inresponse to a new alert being presented in the GUI after the updates areprocessed.

The implementations of this disclosure can be described in terms offunctional block components and various processing operations. Suchfunctional block components can be realized by a number of hardware orsoftware components that perform the specified functions. For example,the disclosed implementations can employ various integrated circuitcomponents (e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements,look-up tables, and the like), which can carry out a variety offunctions under the control of one or more microprocessors or othercontrol devices. Similarly, where the elements of the disclosedimplementations are implemented using software programming or softwareelements, the systems and techniques can be implemented with aprogramming or scripting language, such as C, C++, Java, JavaScript,assembler, or the like, with the various algorithms being implementedwith a combination of data structures, objects, processes, routines, orother programming elements.

Functional aspects can be implemented in algorithms that execute on oneor more processors. Furthermore, the implementations of the systems andtechniques disclosed herein could employ a number of conventionaltechniques for electronics configuration, signal processing or control,data processing, and the like. The words “mechanism” and “component” areused broadly and are not limited to mechanical or physicalimplementations, but can include software routines in conjunction withprocessors, etc. Likewise, the terms “system” or “tool” as used hereinand in the figures, but in any event based on their context, may beunderstood as corresponding to a functional unit implemented usingsoftware, hardware (e.g., an integrated circuit, such as an ASIC), or acombination of software and hardware. In certain contexts, such systemsor mechanisms may be understood to be a processor-implemented softwaresystem or processor-implemented software mechanism that is part of orcallable by an executable program, which may itself be wholly or partlycomposed of such linked systems or mechanisms.

Implementations or portions of implementations of the above disclosurecan take the form of a computer program product accessible from, forexample, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium. Acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium can be a device that can,for example, tangibly contain, store, communicate, or transport aprogram or data structure for use by or in connection with a processor.The medium can be, for example, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, or semiconductor device.

Other suitable mediums are also available. Such computer-usable orcomputer-readable media can be referred to as non-transitory memory ormedia, and can include volatile memory or non-volatile memory that canchange over time. A memory of an apparatus described herein, unlessotherwise specified, does not have to be physically contained by theapparatus, but is one that can be accessed remotely by the apparatus,and does not have to be contiguous with other memory that might bephysically contained by the apparatus.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with certainimplementations, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to belimited to the disclosed implementations but, on the contrary, isintended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangementsincluded within the scope of the appended claims, which scope is to beaccorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and equivalent structures as is permitted under the law.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; and aprocessor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to:output a graphical user interface including a persistent panel to adisplay of a client device, wherein the persistent panel includesmultiple entries each corresponding to different real-timecommunications received at the client device, wherein each of theentries displays information associated with a real-time communicationand includes one or more response actions that are each selectable by asingle-click user interaction within the persistent panel to initiate adifferent action for a real-time communication, and wherein thepersistent panel persists at a top of a foreground of the display toenable a user of the client device to view the entries and to selectbetween response actions associated with the entries while one or moreother software graphical user interfaces are output for viewing withinthe foreground at the display; and initiate an action for the real-timecommunication associated with a given entry of the entries based on aselection of a response action of the one or more response actions forthe given entry.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or moreresponse actions for the given entry correspond to the real-timecommunication associated with the given entry, and wherein the one ormore response actions for the given entry are configurable.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured toexecute the instructions to: receive updates to a configuration ofresponse actions associated with the real-time communication; and modifythe one or more response actions according to the updates, wherein themodified one or more response actions are presented in the persistentpanel for the given entry.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theclient device is a desktop computer or a laptop computer, and whereinthe single-click user interaction is a single click using a mouse orother peripheral of the desktop computer.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the persistent panel further presents one or more applicationstatus indicators for one or more software applications or services. 6.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the persistent panel further presentsone or more user status indicators including a presence indicator for anoperator of the client device.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thereal-time communications correspond to modalities including one or moreof calls, conferences, or messages.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7,wherein, when the real-time communication associated with the givenentry is a call, the one or more response actions corresponding to thegiven entry include one or more of a first user interface element foraccepting the call, a second user interface element for rejecting thecall, or a third user interface element for placing the call on hold. 9.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein, when the real-time communicationassociated with the given entry is a conference, the one or moreresponse actions corresponding to the given entry include one or more ofa first user interface element for joining the conference, a second userinterface element for messaging one or more participants of theconference, or a third user interface element for leaving theconference.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein, when the real-timecommunication associated with the given entry is a message, the one ormore response actions corresponding to the given entry include one ormore of a first user interface element for viewing the message, a seconduser interface element for responding to the message, or a third userinterface element for ignoring the message.
 11. The apparatus of claim1, wherein at least some of the real-time communications are implementedusing one or more software services of a unified communications as aservice platform.
 12. A non-transitory computer readable storage deviceincluding program instructions that, when executed by a processor of aclient device, cause the processor to perform operations, the operationscomprising: outputting a graphical user interface including a persistentpanel to a display of a client device, wherein the persistent panelincludes multiple entries each corresponding to different real-timecommunications received at the client device, wherein each of theentries displays information associated with a real-time communicationand includes one or more response actions that are each selectable by asingle-click user interaction within the persistent panel to initiate adifferent action for a real-time communication, and wherein thepersistent panel persists at a top of a foreground of the display toenable a user of the client device to view the entries and to selectbetween response actions associated with the entries while one or moreother software graphical user interfaces are output for viewing withinthe foreground at the display; and initiating an action for thereal-time communication associated with a given entry of the entriesbased on a selection of a response action of the response actions forthe given entry.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable storage deviceof claim 12, wherein the one or more response actions for the givenentry correspond to the real-time communication associated with thegiven entry, and wherein the one or more response actions for the givenentry are configurable.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable storagedevice of claim 12, wherein the persistent panel further presents one ormore application status indicators for one or more software applicationsor services.
 15. The non-transitory computer readable storage device ofclaim 12, wherein the persistent panel further presents one or more userstatus indicators including a presence indicator for an operator of theclient device.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable storage deviceof claim 12, wherein the real-time communication is implemented using asoftware service of a unified communications as a service platform. 17.A system, comprising: a first communication system configured toimplement a first service through which first real-time communicationsare received at a client device; a second communication systemconfigured to implement a second service through which second real-timecommunications are received at the client device; and a graphical userinterface system configured to output a graphical user interfaceincluding a persistent panel to a display of the client device, whereinthe persistent panel includes multiple entries each corresponding to oneof the first real-time communications or one of the second real-timecommunications and includes one or more response actions that are eachselectable by a single-click user interaction with the persistent panelto initiate a different action for a corresponding real-timecommunication, and wherein the persistent panel persists at a top of aforeground of the display to enable a user of the client device to viewthe entries and to select between response actions associated with theentries while one or more other software graphical user interfaces areoutput for viewing within the foreground at the display, wherein anaction associated with the first service is initiated based on aselection of a response action associated with a first entry of theentries corresponding to one of the first real-time communications andan action associated with the second service is initiated based on aselection of a response action associated with a second entry of theentries corresponding to one of the second real-time communications. 18.The system of claim 17, wherein the persistent panel further presentsone or more application status indicators for one or more softwareapplications or services and one or more user status indicatorsincluding a presence indicator for an operator of the client device. 19.The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more response actions for atleast some of the entries are configurable.
 20. The system of claim 17,wherein at least one of the first service or the second servicecorresponds to a software service of a unified communications as aservice platform.